Qinhuangdao crowdfunding Cafe "can't play", talk about the current situation of crowdfunding model.

At present, "crowdfunding" is a hot word. From industrial financing to eating AA, it has been pulled into the circle of crowdfunding. Each person can contribute a thousand yuan to open a coffee shop. If the travel expenses are not enough, you can send money to your moments to raise money. Crowdfunding sounds fashionable, but is this fund-raising model really reliable? Should we accept crowdfunding? How should we look at it?

Reporter's investigation: why can't crowdfunding cafes play?

Children with dreams, let's open a coffee shop with coffee, music, books and human feelings. This was the slogan when Qinhuangdao "drying Coffee" recruited shareholders in 2013, but more than a year later, the cafe announced that it was closed.

When it comes to the most fashionable concept of Internet finance, crowdfunding is one of them. Crowdfunding cafes can be said to have sprung up all over the country, gathering a certain number of shareholders, each contributing tens of thousands to thousands of dollars, and raising manpower, material resources, time, energy and experience. By realizing the common dream of the coffee shop, a large social group is formed, in which various social interest circles are classified by interests and hobbies. Obtained a group of like-minded partners, is no longer a person fighting for the dream, through common action, so that the dream is no longer far away.

However, why did Qinhuangdao's "coffee drying" go out of business after only one year of operation? The reporter contacted Chen long, one of the people in charge of "drying coffee." he was always reluctant to say more about the reasons for the closure, only telling reporters that "there are almost no crowdfunding cafes across the country without losing money, and there are a lot of things in it." Reporters don't know about "a lot of things", but it is certain that cafes are not profitable.

Through inquiries, the reporter found that many crowdfunding cafes have advertisements for shareholders with "We are not for profit." in their view, crowdfunding cafes are not only a very new and interesting form of entrepreneurship, but also the petty bourgeoisie atmosphere and the function of the natural communication platform emitted by the coffee shop itself are the selling points that they value most.

However, to paraphrase a bit vulgar saying: the ideal is very plump, the reality is very bony. Not making a profit does not mean that you will not lose money, and it does not matter that you are losing money for the purpose of making a profit. When the crowdfunding coffee shop was in operation for a year, it was reported that it was about to close down precisely because the original funds raised by the crowdfunding were only enough to cover the initial investment expenses of the first year, that is, one-time hardware investment such as decoration, furniture, coffee machines and rent for the first year. If the coffee shop continues to lose money in the first year, it means that there are only two ways out: either to conduct a second round of crowdfunding, to raise in advance the rigid costs of rent, raw materials, water, electricity, and staff for the second year, and to continue to burn money, or to close down and break up business.

"I will not choose crowdfunding to start a business." Wang Dapeng, vice president of Qinhuangdao Limon Culture Communication Co., Ltd., told reporters, "if you can find other means of financing, you will certainly not go to crowdfunding, which shows that your business is not enough to attract the eyes of investors." When entrepreneurs really need investors' money, they can only turn to crowdfunding. And startups take time to grow, and investors usually inject capital several times, or help entrepreneurs clear the way of competitors. But crowdfunding entrepreneurs find it hard to go back to consumers and ask for money. "

It can be seen that even if crowdfunding start-ups do not make money, if they continue to lose money, who will bear the funding gap? The success of crowdfunding for the first time depends on hopes and dreams. When the hope of profit is broken, how many people are willing to throw money into this bottomless pit of loss through the second crowdfunding?

So is it legal to start a crowdfunding business? The reporter consulted Wu Lianxin, a lawyer from Hebei Wu Xiuping Law firm, and learned that the country did not have a clear legal definition of crowdfunding. "if there is no physical store or operation, recruiting shareholders or funds under the banner of opening a shop or starting a business is an illegal fund-raising." Wu Lianxin told reporters. And the Company Law requires that the number of shareholders of a limited liability company shall not exceed 50 and that of a joint stock limited company shall be 2 to 200. If the number of shareholders exceeds the above limit, crowdfunding will also be subject to legal restrictions. Wu Lianxin reminded readers that the crowdfunding industry is still in its infancy in China and is not perfect in terms of policies, laws and regulations. if individuals use private crowdfunding through the Internet, there may be the risk of funds being set up or cheated. Everyone still needs to be careful to participate in this model.

Is it reliable to go your own way and let others pay for it?

"I want to have a physical and spiritual trip on Mount Qomolangma. Will you support me? Those who have not been there can have less regret; those who want to go can be moved more; and those who have already been there can have a little more aftertaste. "

Have you ever seen similar words in your Wechat moments? Ask for travel expenses online and rely on the financial support of others to realize your dream of traveling. This mode of "crowdfunding tourism" has quietly sprung up on the Internet. Many post-90s people advocate this concept of leisure. In fact, the cost of high-frequency and high-quality travel and the stereotyped itinerary are still heartaches for many young people who lack financial strength and pursue personality. Many young people have experienced the embarrassment of insufficient budget, and this ingenious way can solve this problem. Some travelers will also return with the specialty of the tourist destination.

However, many travelers or travel enthusiasts are most worried about whether bank accounts will be leaked or cheated when traveling through crowdfunding. Ms. Ma, a citizen, thought, "if someone pretends to be my friend and asks me to raise money for a trip, I can't tell." When he takes the money, he spends it somewhere else, and we can't supervise it. "

Zhang Fan, director of the Municipal Tourism Research Center, told reporters that at present, in Qinhuangdao City, the traditional online and offline tourism mode is still the mainstream. "after all, it is not universal to rely on other people to sponsor tourism."

At the same time, Zhang Fan said that at present, there is no clear regulation on crowdfunding travel, and if individuals are privately crowdfunded through the Internet, there may be the risk of personal funds being set up or cheated, so be very careful.

The reporter saw from Ctrip that at the end of last year, Ctrip added a "entanglement" project, which will help users realize all kinds of travel dreams in the form of micro-crowdfunding. It is reported that "travelers" only need to make their travel plans public before they can seek financial assistance from their relatives and friends. Over the past few days since the launch of the product, tens of thousands of users have tried the fresh water, and many people have received "big red envelopes" of hundreds or even thousands of yuan.

Does the travel society in Qinhuangdao try crowdfunding tourism? Liu Xiaoling, sales manager of the Qinhuangdao branch of CYTS, told the reporter that at present, travel agencies are not optimistic about this "you pay, I will play" way of traveling. Although some domestic travel agencies have begun to plan crowdfunding tourism, most of them are in their infancy and the business risk is not small. In addition, for crowdfunding tourism, in addition to increasing the awareness of tourists, cultivating the financing habits of the industry, and improving the maturity of the crowdfunding platform, the core issue is to solve the problem of personalization and characteristics of tourism crowdfunding projects. "for example, bachelor party trips, self-driving trips, treehouse tent camping trips, creating opportunities for love, life, career, promotion and other opportunities for the interaction between young people. Create a new theme personalized, customized crowdfunding travel agency communication service platform, so as to attract people. "

Source: Qinhuangdao Daily